Business

Marcus Theatres to test 3-D systems for UltraScreens

Milwaukee-based Marcus Theatres Corp. is researching ways to show 3-D movies on its special large screens, known as UltraScreens, a company executive said Thursday.

Currently, the digital 3-D systems used by Marcus Theatres work only with conventional screens and cannot be displayed properly on the company's UltraScreens, which are up to 75 feet wide and 32 feet high.

But tests will begin soon on a digital 3-D system for the UltraScreens, said Doug Neis, chief financial officer at Marcus Corp., which owns Marcus Theatres and Marcus Hotels and Resorts.

Neis' comment came at the end of a presentation he and company CEO Greg Marcus made at Gabelli & Co.'s Digital Cinema and Movie Conference in New York.

Marcus Theatres operates UltraScreens at 12 theater complexes, including three in southeastern Wisconsin: North Shore Cinemas, Mequon; Majestic Cinemas, Town of Brookfield; and Renaissance Cinemas, Sturtevant.

Marcus Theatres said Monday it will install 10 more 3-D systems in new locations throughout the Midwest and will install nine additional 3-D systems to supplement theaters that already have the systems.

With the new systems, Marcus Theatres will offer digital 3-D at 53 screens at 43 locations in seven states. All 19 systems are expected to be installed by April.

In the Milwaukee area, Southgate Cinemas in Milwaukee and Hillside Cinemas in Delafield will get 3-D for the first time. Area theaters that already have 3-D and will get additional 3-D systems are Ridge Cinemas, New Berlin; Majestic Cinemas, and Menomonee Falls Cinemas.

Greg Marcus told conference attendees that company executives have concluded that 3-D is more than just a fad, noting the box office success of the 3-D film "Avatar."

"We're excited about it," he said. "We will continue to grow it."

A company spokeswoman said after the presentation that Marcus and Neis had nothing additional to say about how long the tests would take or when the 3-D UltraScreen capability might be available.

Thanks in part to "Avatar" and other 3-D releases, box office receipts in the United States and Canada were $10.6 billion in 2009, an increase of more than 10% from 2008, according to a recent report from the Motion Picture Association of America.

The 3-D market accounted for 11% of that total, compared with just 2% in 2008. Twenty films were released in 3-D last year, compared to just eight released in 2008.